Tangled Up In Plaid
by PWRDOWN
Summary: Spencer convinces Paige to enroll in an online dating site in hopes that Paige can move on from a bad break up. Who may she find on the site?
1. Chapter 1

Spencer shoved me into my computer chair, which swiveled backwards by the force. Frustrated, she placed her computer in front of me on the desk, and pointed to the screen. "It's been over six months, Paige," She started, her husky voice filling the space, "I literally cannot go another day listening to Adele playing from in your room," I opened my mouth to protest, but she quickly intervened, "I don't have the patience for an argument," I huffed loudly; I was undoubtedly going to object to her fact, which easily would've sparked a 'yes, you do'-'no, you don't' debate.

"What do you want from me?" I mumbled and then sighed, Spencer looked at me sympathetically. I rolled my eyes, "Don't look at me like that,"

"Look, I know you had a tough breakup, it happens, but I think it's time to move on, don't you think so?" I was preparing an answer when Spencer decided to continue, "I found this dating site—"

I cut her off, "No dating sites."

"You didn't even let me finish,"

"No dating sites," I repeated, sternly.

Spencer ran her hand through her dark brown hair; "I've had to put up with your mopey behavior for six months, Paige. Six months. All I'm asking is that you take some time— _try _to go on a few dates and be happy, I'm not asking for the impossible."

"But—"

"Paige," She said seriously, the tone reminding me of my mother, "Come on,"

I frowned, but gave in, "Fine."

"Okay," She pushed my chair closer to the desk; "I asked around about this site, they say that it's very good with a high success rate." I looked at the screen of the computer; I grimaced. The webpage was a stoic blue with a picture of a couple laughing on the sidebar. _Find your perfect match today. _I suppressed a scoff. "So, let's set you up an account," Spencer said, her eyes scanning through the website.

"Fine," I clicked onto the sign up page, and it asked for all of my basic information; name, age, gender, occupation, orientation, et cetera, et cetera, you name it— it was there. It felt awkward to upload all of my information onto a site that I had never even heard of. "I'm done." I said, shortly after I had typed in all of the required information.

"Nah uh," Spencer said distantly, "You still have to take a picture."

"I don't have any pictures," I said, lying. "Plus, it's not required, so I can skip it."

She bumped my arm with her elbow, "It's a _dating _website, people want to see you, get to know you." I sighed loudly, "Anyway, you have a webcam, and you can take pictures on that thing." Spencer took a look at me, "Maybe you should brush your hair or something, look appealing."

"Are you trying to say that I don't look—"

"I'm saying that you look terrible right now."

"Fine then, grab me my brush." She goes to retrieve my brush and probably more too. I stared at the screen before me. This was incredibly ridiculous; this site was probably a sham anyways. But I didn't think that I was taking the breakup with my ex-girlfriend as bad as Spencer made it out to be. I mean, breaking up after two years with Shana was going to affect me no matter how hard I tried to pretend that it wouldn't.

I guess the breakup was pretty bad; a lot of harsh words were exchanged, I had even earned a slap, and essentially, I was kicked out of our apartment and had to move in with Spencer. Truth of the matter, we just outgrew each other, our desires were polar opposites, and we stopped having fun as a couple. Shana just began to feel like someone I was just holding along whilst my soul mate roamed somewhere in the world.

Spencer returns with my brush, a small mirror, and a bright smile on her face that made me cringe. "Here," She handed me the items, keeping the smile for herself. I took the hairbrush first and lazily brushed through my hair; straightening it up for this stupid picture.

"See? You look better already." I could hear the humor roll off of Spencer's tongue.

"Can I take this stupid picture already?" I whined, and Spencer laughed at me. "This is so dumb." I said, "You're only doing this so you can laugh at me, aren't you?" I accused. Spencer frowned. I knew that wasn't true, but I wasn't thinking rationally.

"I'm only trying to help you out," She said simply brushing off my accusation, "Let's get this picture of you so we can get you a date or something, alright?"

I sighed, turning towards the computer screen, moving my fingers across the mouse to turn the black screen back to the webpage. I exhaled before clicking on the 'take a picture' option on the stupid site. I saw my face, and I tried to smile, but after I took the picture, I grimaced. I had only formed a half smile that made me look silly.

"That looks nice," Spencer complimented, leaning over my shoulder to look at my picture, "Upload it." I clicked to upload it.

_Thank you for registering with us! _

"I guess I'll wait for all the ladies to start pouring in," I said sarcastically, getting up from the desk, "I'm going to go to bed, Spence,"

"It's only nine,"

I shrugged, "I have to work tomorrow anyways," I walked past her and into the spare bedroom I had been living in for the past six months, "See you in the morning," I said, walking into the room and closing the door behind me.

I plopped onto the thick quilt on the bed, and stare at the ceiling.

This was ridiculous, wasn't it?

I scoffed and turned on my side, it's not like people _actually _go on dating websites, right? I closed my eyes, letting ongoing tiredness settle in.

* * *

I yawned at my desk in the office. Only an hour left until I can go home. I reclined in my chair and interlocked my fingers behind my head. After work, I could get some more rest. I don't know why I was so tired. I heard my office phone ring; I sighed and sat up, answering the phone while I'm at it, "Paige McCullers," I answered quickly.

"Paige, you won't believe what…"

"I thought I told you not to call my work phone unless it was an emergency, Spencer,"

"But it is,"

"Are you in danger?" I asked nonchalantly, already knowing the answer.

"Well, no."

"Is the house on fire?"

"No, but Paige—"

"So then there's no emergency, is there?"

"Paige,"

"Spencer,"

"You got a response on the dating site." She said simply. This got my attention, "Thought you should know,"

I tried to play indifferent, "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Spencer sounded excited about it, I smiled, "So, there's someone who's interested, send you a message. I didn't open it, but I did look her up,"

"Okay?"

"She's really pretty, Paige," She mentioned, "Like, I think you'd really like her,"

"Hm."

"Why don't you log in there and take a look?"

"I'm kind of busy," I lied, sitting up straighter and typing the website's address into my computer. "I mean, I'll take a look if I get some time," I typed in my login information and pressed enter. The screen popped up with my own profile, and in the corner, a red alert caught my eye. "I'll talk to you when I get there, okay?

"Yeah, okay, bye"

"Bye," I clicked the alert as I hung up.

_Holy shit._

I looked at the woman who sent me the message; long chestnut wavy hair cascaded around her shoulders, deep brown eyes stared directly through me. She was beautiful, undeniably beautiful. I looked for a name: Emily Fields.

"Okay Emily Fields," I said to myself, scrolling through her message to me. She wrote that she found me intriguing, and that she wanted to get to know me. It was simple enough. I bit my lip and clicked onto her profile.

So, she likes to swim and read, she's a fashion editor, and she's twenty-four, the same age as myself. I continue to look through her profile. She was seemingly perfect, for me, that is.

_I wonder where she lives…_

My eyes fall upon her location; New York City.

I frowned. I lived in Pittsburg my entire life, and I knew that New York City was a distance away despite the proximity of the states.

I glanced over her profile again, taking in the information about her. I took a deep breath and sent a response to her message.

_Let's get to know each other. _

* * *

**_Note:_**I'm not a strong writer and I'm not going to pretend that I am. I had this idea in my head, I wanted to put it in words, so here it is. Hopefully it pleases; a review would be nice, but isn't necessary.


	2. Chapter 2

Spencer was grinning ear to ear when I got home. As soon as I dropped my messenger bag on the floor, she approached me. "You looked, didn't you?" I was trying not to react, but I did, and Spencer gasped, "She's pretty, right?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, she is," I brushed past her and walked into the kitchen, Spencer followed.

"Are you going to talk to her?" She inquired as I opened up the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. I leaned my back against the counter and stared at Spencer, "What's wrong?"

I shrugged, "It's nothing," I twisted off the cap of my bottle, "She's perfect," I admitted, taking a sip of water, whilst Spencer smiled triumphantly. "But she lives six hours away," I said, "And that's a lot of commitment,"

"So, you don't even know her and you're already saying that the relationship would be a lot of commitment…" Spencer said, amused by my reasoning, "Give it a chance? What's the worse that can happen?"

"She turns out to be a 60-year old guy," I murmured, taking another sip, "Or someone who's trying to get a lot of information about me to steal my identity," I shrugged, "Or maybe, someone who has a—"

"Please stop talking,"

"You asked for the worst, I'm telling you,"

"It wasn't a rhetorical question,"

"Then why did you ask it?"

Spencer rolled her eyes, "So, are you going to talk to her? You seem to be avoiding to answer,"

"I'm not avoiding,"

"I think you are,"

"Maybe I am,"

"I knew it,"

"I didn't say I was,"

Spencer sighed, "I'm not in the mood for your mind games, Paige,"

"I've already responded, Spencer," I said, screwing the cap back on the bottle, "I told her that I wanted to get to know her," I pushed myself away from the counter, "Just waiting on another response,"

"Oh my god," Spencer shrieked, "You could've told me sooner!"

"I could've," I mused, "But now you know," I walked out of the kitchen and towards my room, "I'll be in my room, Spence," I opened my door and quickly shut it behind me. I don't know how I managed to contain my excitement from Spencer, but I did. A smile formed on my face, and I felt like it was impossible to remove from my face. I hopped on my bed and grabbed my laptop from the bedside. I opened it up, and turned it on.

I nervously clicked on to the site and logged in all of my information again before being directed to the next screen, where I saw that another message was waiting for me. I opened the message:

_Let's get to know each other then. I'm Emily. _

I licked my lip subconsciously, thinking of what to type.

_Hi, Emily, I'm Paige._

I jabbed my finger on the backspace key, sighing in a frustrated manner. That sounded way too casual. "You're trying to impress her," I reminded myself aloud, "What would impress her?"

_Hi, I'm Paige— tell me about yourself. _

Still, it was short and casual, but I determined that it made me appear more confident. Right? Without thinking twice, I pressed the send button. _Should I wait? _I asked myself. I didn't know how Emily's daily schedule was, for all I knew, she could've been out on another date.

_Don't discourage yourself, Paige. Come on. Think positive. She obviously likes you. _I thought to myself, fidgeting with my fingers anxiously. The more depressing side of my mind spoke up; _Well… she __**is**__ gorgeous. And I'm not the best out there. Technically, we're not even in the same state. I bet tons of people have contacted her. _I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

A flash of red appeared on the screen, alerting that I had another message. I opened up the message. My eyes scanned through the message:

_I'm Emily, 24, born and raised in New York. I live with my best friend, and we're both in the fashion industry. When I'm not working, I like watching horror films and reading. Sometimes, when I have the chance, I go to the pool and swim. Uhm, I got out of a relationship a few months ago, I was engaged, but it wasn't working out, and we decided to end it. But enough about me, tell me who you are. _

I reread the message, recording the information in my mind. I hesitate before I typed in my response:

_My name is Paige, I'm also 24, and I'm a game designer. I used to swim a lot, but I haven't done so in a very long time, just haven't had the time. I moved around a lot, I don't have a definite location where I was raised, but I've lived in Pittsburg since I was 18, so I kind of consider it home. Previously, I was in a relationship, we outgrew each other, now I'm single. It's okay though. So, do you have another way that we can talk? Or are we limited to this site? _

I clicked 'send' and sighed. I got out of bed and untucked my shirt from my pants. Quickly, I unbuttoned the shirt, and pulled it off. I dropped it to the floor. Soon, my pants followed. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I put on the clothes swiftly, and return to bed. I looked at the screen again. I opened the message that was waiting for me:

_Of course not—646-555-7762_

My eyes glazed over the phone number. _Shit. She wants me to call? _I feel my breath increase. _I'm probably going to sound like a total creep. _I looked over the number again, "Shit," I get out of bed again, and leave my room.

I found Spencer sitting in the living room watching some show on the television, "Spencer," I say hastily. She doesn't take her eyes off the screen, but nods as a response, "_Spencer_,"

"What?"

"I need your help,"

"Okay…"

"Emily gave me her phone number,"

Spencer gave me her attention, "She did what?"

"I have her number," I said, repeating myself, "I don't know what to do. Do I call her? What do I say? I need help here,"

"You call her," Spencer said simply, "She says hello," I rolled my eyes, but Spencer continues, "You tell her that it's you who's calling, and you two have a talk. Simple as that, Paige," Spencer redirected her attention back to the television.

"Thanks for nothing,"

"You'll thank me later,"

"Whatever," I muttered as I headed back to my room. I closed my door as soon as I make it into my room. I took out my cell phone from my discarded pants on the floor, and walked over to the bed. I tilted the laptop screen up, so I could easily see Emily's number. Slowly, I copied the number from there to my phone. My thumb hovered over the 'call' option.

"Come on, Paige, you can do this." I said, in attempt to give myself pep talk. "She likes you," I looked at her number on my phone, "Just call her," I bit my lip. _Press the button. _

I pressed call, and held the phone to my ear. I listened to a few rings, before I finally heard a soft, "Hello,"

"Uh, h-hi," I stuttered, "It's Paige,"

"Hello, Paige," Emily greeted kindly, "Nice to hear your voice,"

"Likewise,"

"So, ahem, what now?" She asked.

"Um, we talk… about…"

"Our ideas of amazing dates?" She laughed, and I nervously chuckled. _Jesus, she has an amazing laugh. _

"Sounds like a great idea, actually,"

"Well, my idea of a good date is something modest; home cooked food, and a movie."

"That's sounds really great,"

"It's a little more intimate, if you'd ask me." She said, sighing very quietly, "Being at a restaurant kind of takes away, you know?"

Wow.

"Yeah, I know…" I chuckled, "Are you real?" I asked, before I could stop myself, "I mean," I tried to correct myself, "Damn, I mean, I don't even know,"

"I'm very real." She laughed, "Are _you _real? I mean, you're gorgeous," She complimented, "And no one's snagged you yet?"

I smirked, "I can say the same for you, Emily,"

"Haven't found the right person," She said, "Maybe I will," She sounded optimistic.

"Emily! I need your opinion on these shoes!" I heard someone yell in the background, and I raised my eyebrows.

"Hanna," Emily said, quietly, "I'm on the phone,"

"But, I'm going out with Caleb…"

"_Hanna, _I'm on the phone with _Paige,_"

"Oh, shit," I heard her say, "Oops,"

"Sorry about that," Emily apologized, "That was my roommate,"

"It's okay,"

"So, are you going to bed soon?"

I looked at my clock; 11:32 PM. "Oh wow, I didn't even realize how late it was,"

"How about this… we say goodnight now, and then tomorrow, we'll talk again?"

"That sounds like a good idea,"

"Well, until tomorrow, Paige?"

I nodded, "Yup,"

"Okay," She sighed into the phone, "Good night,"

"Good night, Emily, sleep well,"

* * *

**Note: **Honestly, I didn't think that I'd get as much support. But I thank you for it. Here's another chapter, hopefully it's satisfactory. Leave a review if you choose to.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, Paige, when do I finally get to see you?" Emily asked me after two weeks of verbal communication over the phone. We had talked just about every night since she gave me her phone number. It felt amazing being able to look forward to talk to her every day. My level of happiness drastically increased. "Not that I don't like talking to you," she added sweetly, "But I'd like to see you,"

I scratched the back of my head, "I'd like to see you too,"

"Then what's stopping us?"

"Nothing," I said, "Ah, so…" I started nervously, working a plan in my mind as I spoke, "How about I go to you?" I suggested, "Maybe you can show me around New York? I mean, whenever you're available we can do that…"

"What about this weekend?" Emily proposed, "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, sounds perfect," I said, "I'll start looking at hotels tonight,"

"You know, you can stay here if you'd like. I can tell you, there aren't too many cheap hotels around here." I gulped. "If you're comfortable with the idea,"

"Ah, sounds like a plan. I… uh… I guess I'll leave here Friday morning," My heart was racing, "I'll be there in the afternoon." I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. I couldn't believe that in just three days, we'd meet for the first time.

"I guess I'll see you then," Emily said, "I'll send you a message with my address,"

"Alright,"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course,"

"Bye, Paige,"

"Bye, Emily," We hung up, and I sighed loudly. I would see Emily this Friday. Friday. Three days. Not only would I see her, but I would also be staying in the same place as her. I felt my cheeks heat up. I'd spend the night at Emily's place.

Spencer knocked on my door, "Are you done off the phone yet?" Without waiting for my answer, she opened my door and walked in, "You couldn't answer me?" Spencer asked when she noticed that I wasn't on the phone.

"Because you're impatient,"

She looked at me, "Why are you… what's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, nothing," I said quickly, "It's just… I'm going away for the weekend,"

"Work-related?" Spencer asked, sitting next to me on my bed.

"Uhm, no, I'm seeing Emily,"

"Really!?" She said happily, "I'm really glad. Thought I'd have to give you another push or something."

I smiled, "I think you've helped enough, Spence," I said appreciatively, "I'll admit this, and only once, okay?" I saw a large smirk appear on her face as she waited for me to continue, "Thanks for convincing me to go on that stupid dating site,"

"You don't have to thank me," She waved her hand, "I'm sure you'd do something similar if I were in your situation."

"Maybe," I joked.

Spencer bumped her shoulder against mine, "So, are you going to take my car?" She asked, "Or are you going to ride six hours on a motorcycle?"

* * *

I packed my last backpack full of the clothes and items that I was going to take along with me to New York. I had successfully packed three of my best outfits and two decent pairs of pajamas, and undergarments, also all of my toiletries that I would need. There wasn't too much I needed to bring, but I felt as though I was forgetting everything.

_Clothes? _Check.

_Underwear? _Check.

_Hygienic stuff? _Check.

_Laptop? _Check.

_Adaptors? _Check.

_My nerves? _Not entirely.

It was a little after six in the morning, the sun was slowly creeping its way over the horizon, but not quite, so it remained slightly dark outside. However, I had been awake since three, completely freaking out about driving to New York today. I was excited nonetheless, but I was meeting this woman who I've been talking to for the past few weeks— this extremely attractive woman who happens to like me and actually wants me to go stay with her.

"She likes me," I reminded myself, picking up my bags from the floor and one over my shoulder while carrying the other in my hand. I opened up my door with my free hand, walked out of my room and headed towards Spencer's. Slowly, I nudged her door open, "Spencer," I called quietly, and she rolled over onto her side, "Spencer," I called again, a little louder.

"Hm…" I heard her reply, but made no real movement to signal that she was really awake. I walked to her bed and gently touched her shoulder. "Hm?" She sounded again, more awake this time around.

"Spencer, I'm about to get on the road," I said as Spencer blinked her eyes awake, "I was just letting you know, alright?" She nodded sleepily, "I'll see you Sunday night,"

"Call me…" She mumbled, closing her eyes, and pulling her sheets up to her chin.

"I will, Spence," I headed out of her room, closing the door behind me. I grabbed her keys, and left the house. I walked towards her car, clicking the locks open, and opened the backseat to put my bags back there. I made my way to the driver's side and got in. Firstly, I had to adjust the seat, since Spencer always sits up straighter than I do.

I pressed my feet down down the clutch and the brake as I turned over the car, listening to the engine start up. Almost instantly, Spencer's music started blaring:

_I wanna kiss, kiss, kiss you all over_

_Hold you tight and tuck you in and call you my lover_

_Call you my lover_

I urgently turned it off. _God, Spencer. _I pulled her handbrake down and removed my foot off the clutch. I actually really hated driving stick shifts, I wasn't as good as Spencer, and I don't know how she found the time to learn how to use one. I take my foot off the brake and move it to the gas, while slowly shifting into first gear. I sighed, slowly releasing the clutch and pressing more on the gas. Finally, I drove off from the driveway.

It was official.

I was officially heading to New York. I smiled happily to myself as I merged onto I-376; six hours to go.

* * *

You can tell when you're in New York because there's traffic everywhere. Of course, I was expecting traffic, but not _that _much traffic. My plan of being at Emily's place at one in the afternoon was shot. The traffic was practically gridlocked and made that plan impossible to achieve. I took out my phone and called Emily.

"Hello?" She answered a few rings.

"Hey," I said, licking my lips, "I'm stuck in some traffic,"

"Oh?" I could hear someone whispering in the background, but I couldn't make out the words, "Shut up, Hanna," Emily said, laughing.

"Can you tell me any street names?" She asked, "I might know different way,"

"Uh," I looked around for a street name, but I recognize a landmark, "I'm near Madison Square Garden,"

"Heading to, or heading away,"

"Heading towards,"

"Do you see a 29th Street anywhere, Paige?" I scanned the street names.

"I see it,"

"Take a left there," She said, "Then look for a 10th avenue," I heard her stop herself, "Do you want me to tell you all the directions now?"

"Sure," I smiled. Hopefully I wouldn't get distracted listening to how beautiful her voice was than listening for instructions.

"So, uhm, take a right on 10th, and you're going to spend some time on there until you get to 66th street, and… you're going to make a left there,"

"Thanks Emily,"

"You're welcome. I guess, I'll see you later," She said excitedly, "Bye, Paige,"

"Bye," We hanged up, and I followed Emily's instructions, which deemed much quicker than the track that I was on. Judging on the location and all of the elegant looking buildings, this was an expensive area to live.

_I see why Emily said that staying at a hotel would be too expensive._

Soon enough, I made it onto her street and I saw her apartment complex. It was directly across the street from a body of water and a bridge and entirely less crowded than the other parts of New York I had driven through. I picked up my phone and called her again.

"Hi," She greeted, "Are you lost?" She asked sweetly.

"Well, no," I said, "I'm actually driving past your apartment now, but I don't know where I should park…"

"Oh, can you park curbside? I'll come down and have valet park your car in the garage."

"Alright," She hanged up, and I searched for a spot to park. It wasn't easy, but I found a spot that could barely fit Spencer's car. I locked my eyes onto the entrance of her apartment. I'd surely notice her, right? I'd stare at her picture for such a long time since we started talking, that I've stitched her looks in my mind, so I'd most likely recognize her.

But there's a difference between staring at a picture and actually seeing the real thing. It was definitely Emily who walked out of the apartment complex; her bronze skin radiated in the sunlight, and a bright smile that could make the saddest person do the same. She was dressed very simple; a pair of denim shorts and a white tank top, but it showed off her toned body.

"My god..." I watched her talk to one of the men who stood at the doorway. The way she interacted with him was so natural. I watched her look around, probably for me, and then she took out her phone. In a few seconds, my phone was ringing. I smiled brightly, "Hello?" I answered, watching her from afar.

"So, maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but where did you park?" She asked as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Uh, across the street." I watched her turn her head in my direction, but not quite, "Grey car," She spotted my car and smiled, looking both ways of the street before crossing it, walking towards me.

I turned off the car, unlocked the door, and exited. By the time I had gotten out of the car, Emily was already rounding the hood of the car. Nothing at that moment could wipe the smile off of my face.

"Hi," She said, wrapping her arms around me tightly. My heart was beating so hard against my chest; she could probably feel it in our hug.

"Hi,"

* * *

**Note: **Thanks for the support everyone. It's highly appreciated. Here's another chapter to read, hopefully it's enjoyable. Leave a review if you want to.

*Also, can I just address how cute paily was this week on Pretty Little Liars?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **You guys have been _so_ patient with me. I truly apologize for having this late update; a lot of personal problems emerged and I pulled some extra shifts at work... so time has been pretty thin! Nonetheless, I wrote a bit. I'm not completely happy with this chapter because I kind of... _didn't finish it. _But I wanted to post _something_. When I have a little more time, I'll scrap this chapter, rework-add on-twist it out and post it again. Until then, please enjoy, review this chapter if you've got the time, and if you have any ideas or something you'd like to see between Paige and Emily, please let me know! I read all of the reviews and private messages :)

* * *

"How was the drive?" Emily asked as we stood in the elevator of her apartment complex, waiting for it to get to the designated floor. She smelled of mango, and I had the urge to lean over to inhale the scent more. I refrained myself and cleared my throat.

"Uhm," I started, "It was…" I tried to think of a word that best described my drive, "It was alright," Well, except for being overly excited about meeting Emily for the first time. The elevator dinged, which made me jump, and earned a small laugh from Emily. She walked out of the elevator and guided me towards her apartment door. When I noticed that she hadn't opened the door, I cocked my head to the side, "Is there something wrong?" I asked and she shook her head.

She bit her lip, sexily in my opinion, "It's my roommate," She started, "She's really blunt. I just wanted to warn you beforehand," I nodded and she turned the handle of the door. Emily opened the door to her apartment, which was practically spotless. It was designed with modern furniture and a grey and white theme. Large windows overlooked the body of water I saw when I first arrived, and high buildings on the other side of the water.

Wow. I hadn't even seen the entire place and I could already tell that it ran rings around Spencer's house. No offense. But this apartment was absolutely amazing.

"You have a really nice apartment, Emily," I complimented.

"Thanks," She replied, "So, I'll show you where you can put your stuff," She started walking towards, what I presumed, the bedrooms. There were two doors; one was closed and the other was cracked open. Emily pushed against the door that was cracked, "You can stay here," She said politely. I looked around; there were a lot of personal touches. My eyes scanned through the room quickly, before I laid my eyes on a few photos on the wall.

The first photo I saw was of Emily and a blonde hugging each other in graduation attire. The second was of a slightly older couple with obvious features that Emily shared; parents. This was Emily's room. My stomach did a flip and my heart gave me a kick. I was going to stay in Emily's room. I slowly set my bags on the floor. "Uhm," I said and Emily looked at me, "Thank you."

"You're welcome,"

We stood in her room for a silent minute before I spoke up, "You're taller than I imagined," I joked, but it was true. Emily was about the same height as me. Emily smiled broadly.

"How tall did you think I'd be?"

"Uhm, maybe, 5'4ish?"

She laughed, "I don't think I've been that height since fifth grade."

"Oh really?"

"I'm serious," She laughed, "Being that height at that age was golden," I scratched the back of my head nervously, unsure what to say next. I didn't imagine myself being this awkward around Emily. I thought things would be smoother since we had gotten to know each other over the phone. But I guess that's a little different.

"So…" I drawled out lamely. "I'm not sure what to say," I admitted, "I mean, like, it's great to see you, and you're so much prettier in person." I rethought over what I just said, "I-I mean, you're pretty in pictures too, I just… you're pretty." I'm sure that my face was red of embarrassment. I felt as though I was saying all the wrong things, and nothing was coming out the way I wanted it to.

"Thanks?"

"I'm not usually like this… I am sometimes, but not usually."

"Paige," Emily said my name in such a manner that I my insides turned into putty. "Just be natural. If we could do it over the phone, then we can do it in person," I nodded, "Everything's going to be okay," She added, "You're here and we're together,"

"Yes, we are." Emily tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm glad that I'm here, very glad," A flash of blonde passed by Emily's door, but I easily saw that it was another girl, "Roommate?" I asked, tipping my head to the door.

Emily's eyebrows scrunched up, "Probably. Hanna, you can stop spying on us,"

"I'm not even spying," I heard her reply. After a few seconds, she walked into Emily's room, joining us. Hanna was shorter than me, and definitely had a good eye for a sense of fashion. "Hi, I'm Hanna," She introduced, holding her hand out for me to shake.

"Paige," I shook her hand gently.

"I've heard a lot about you,"

"Oh?" I hummed curiously, "What have you heard?"

Emily cut in quickly before Hanna could answer, "Just stuff, you know?"

"Like what?"

"She _really _likes you," Hanna said, "I can't get her to shut up about you. Like, literally, everyday for the past few weeks she talks about you. Not that I don't mind, but it's _all _the time." Emily's face was completely blushed and it was very attractive, but she also looked like she was two seconds from kicking Hanna out. She looked at her friend who simply shrugged her shoulders, "_What_? It's true,"

"Hanna," Emily whined, "You're kind of embarrassing me,"

"Oops," She didn't bother to sound modest, and her face was smug. But I wanted to hear about these things Emily was telling her. Was it good things, bad things? Does she have any insecurity about us? I wanted to know. But I wasn't going to find out today, I knew that for sure.

I could tell that today was going to be about Emily and myself getting familiar with one another. It's completely different in person. I could watch the way her hair moves when she talks or walks, the simple facial expressions that would pop up on her face, the sound of her voice being so close. It's such a wonderful feeling, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Are you hungry, Paige?" Emily asked me, "We can probably go out to this really good restaurant I like,"

"I wanna go," Hanna chimed in, and Emily looked at her; sending a quiet message with her eyes. "… Or not."

"Sure," I accepted her invitation.

"Would you like to go now?" I nodded and she looked at Hanna, "Lock up for me?"

"Yeah, yeah," She waved her hand as if she'd been asked this a million times before. "Nice meeting you, Paige, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around,"

"Likewise,"

Emily took my hand gently, and I smiled at the touch, "Let's go,"

* * *

The restaurant Emily took me to was nice. It was a few blocks from her apartment so we were able to walk from there to the restaurant; hand in hand. The gesture was so innocent but I felt like my body was on fire. She was holding my hand, which was deemed worthy. I felt like one of those people would never wash their hands after someone famous had touched it.

We were seated towards the back of the restaurant. The servers knew Emily pretty well and appeared to be shocked to see her with me, but overall they seemed gracious. I had looked through the menu, instantly selecting a burger, however spending two additional minutes pretending that I was still looking but staring at Emily over the menu. She caught my stare and smiled, "Found anything?"

"Urm, not really…" I lied terribly, "Can you give me a suggestion?"

She slightly leaned over the table, "Well, what do you like?"

_I like you. _"Uh… I like… burgers…"

"Burgers? Well," She flips the menu over for me, "Here's a list of burgers. Personally, I like their burger melts," She said, "Do you like onions?" I nodded, "How about cheese?" I nodded again and she smiled, "You might like that then."

Despite that I had chosen a burger earlier, I wanted to go with her choice and taste something that she likes. Emily leaned back in her chair, watching me with those eyes of hers. I could probably say this a million times, but Emily was truly beautiful. "I think I'll get that,"


End file.
